Haven't I been here before???

There are so many times in life when I feel like "I've been here before, haven't I?" and my life feels like its going around in circles - I enjoy it - just round and round...

• Successfully potty training another child
• Mac & Cheese and Hot Dogs for lunch (again)
• Vacuuming/Dusting the house (again)
  
• ANOTHER spelling test (with the daughter)
• Teaching another child to "sound out the words - you can do it"
• Cleaning/purging another child's room (AGAIN) for the 2nd time this month
  
• Check the facebook, blogs, twitter, etc
• It's time for "insert junior high activity here" again - where am I going this time Lord?

I think you get my point...

But in a day, like today, where I stayed home to work today, it started off as very "routine" and I got about as excited as you can get... and then the Lord interrupted it

I was reading/studying to share at church tomorrow night with the Junior Highers and I read something in my devotion/book/devotional e-mail (not sure which one) - that my Father wants time with me (not "okay Lord, here's your 10 minutes") but just time in my day, spending time with me...

Today that time was discovering a new worship song on iTunes that just grabbed my heart and reminded me of how much He loves me... and not because I'm perfect (FAR from it), not because of who I am, for my hubby, my kids, my parents OR my job - just because He likes me (despite all my failures)

All of a sudden - that was it - the day was no longer routine or boring or predictable (although it did go a little like I thought it would - remember, I said I'm NOT perfect) but there was a new sense of enjoyment in it...

• my sons laugh
• my other boys smile
• sharing a book with my boys
• learning with my girl
• remembering how much I love to talk with my Grandma (even for a brief 5 minute phone call)
• paying all my bills (yes, even that was peaceful)
• thinking of how much I'm glad my husband is in my life

and SO much more, but I don't want to bore you with the details... but all this started from a sweet time of worship (that was MUCH needed!!!)

So what song is stirring your heart today? Today, I needed a good love song for Him to remind myself what I have in Him and with Him.

I'm thankful...

I needed this today...

God is SO good!! He always sends me JUST what I need when I need it... and today - that was true as always!! (So I just had to share it!!)

TODAY'S WORD from Joel and Victoria Osteen

Do you feel like you are in a pit today? That pit can be frustration or disappointment or a feeling of discouragement, despair, or hopelessness. And maybe you can’t see a way out, but you’ve got to know that God is still with you, and He will make a way where there seems to be no way.

Remember, God will never waste anything you go through in life. If you’ll keep the right attitude, He’ll turn that situation around for your good. It doesn’t matter how you got there, whether it was by your own poor choices or maybe someone else treated you unfairly, God wants to use that situation to do a work in you. He’ll take that evil and turn it around for your good. You may be uncomfortable at times, but you’ve got to know you are growing, and God is building your character.

Today, make the decision to shake off any negative, self-defeating mindsets. Choose to cooperate with God. Trust that He is preparing you for promotion. As you keep an attitude of faith, expectancy, and thanksgiving, He will lift you up and set you on the solid path of victory He has in store for you!

"He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on the solid ground and steadied me as I walked along"
(Psalm 40:2, NLT)

Oh, how He loves us...

"He is jealous for me,
Love's like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great your affections are for me.
Oh, how He loves us so
Oh, how He loves us
How He loves us so."

I feel like lately there is SO much going on - I just can't even begin to describe.
I know I am in a season of being stretched... and that is good.
Learning not to lean on myself or the "natural", but to REALLY trust Him and follow His leading.
But there are times in the middle of this stretching that I feel like parts of me are going to "snap"... but, OH how my Father is SO good to me!!

As I sat and worshipped this afternoon, He brought this song to my mind...
the part that sticks out to me is this "I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory"

All these problems are NOTHING compared to His glory. His affections are GREAT for me!!

I am so thankful that no matter how difficult, confusing, intimidating or trying a situation may seem to me - it's NOTHING compared to His glory and His Glory is in ME!!
That just brings SUCH peace to me!!

So, as I pray today to clearly hear His voice and experience Him - I pray the same for you!! Because I know that on my own I will work and toil FOREVER, but as I trust in Him and follow Him... He can do GREAT things through my small efforts.

by the way... if you want to see a video of the whole song - click HERE

I love God's faithfulness...

I read this today in my devotion and it was such a great reminder...

"The Lord isn't really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake..." 2 Peter 3:9 NLT

It doesn't take very long to discover that God's timing is not always our timing. It's easy to question and wonder why you've been waiting for your breakthrough for 15 years and your neighbor got their breakthrough in 15 minutes! In the Bible, Abraham waited 20 years for his promise, and in the upper room they waited about ten days. I don't know how long you'll have to wait, but you've got to understand that God has your best interest at heart. He is being patient for your sake. He's aligning things and waiting for the exact right moment! If you'll just continue waiting with the right attitude, then at the right time, God will bring it to pass.

Remember, God is always working behind the scenes for your good. Just because you don't see any changes taking place doesn't mean they aren't happening. Keep standing, keep believing, keep hoping because you're breakthrough is coming for your sake!

You just don't realize...

I do usually make a point to thank my Father for a lot of things in life...
but I know I can usually tend to complain about a few things as well.

Lately I've been frustrated with a few things in life - just the norm (money, obedient kids, work, whatever) and working on giving my cares over to the Lord.

Tonight I was stopped in my tracks and brought to tears... I was reading a friends blog and noticed another blog that he subscribes to and thought I'd check it out. It was the blog of a young boy (around my Connor's age) who's battling some serious battles in regards to his health. I was reading the words of his loving momma and what she's going through in trips to the hospital (she said something about being at home only 2 days this month so far), medications, wheelchairs, and dealing with doctors...

And I realized just how truly blessed I am that my children are all healthy, happy and blessed (so are her children - but I think I have an easier time seeing that instead of just believing for that) in that I don't have to deal with the things she was describing.

Thank you Lord for how TRULY blessed I am - please help me remember not to take the little things for granted. I'm blessed and happy for how wonderful, happy, healthy, and blessed my family is.

God is faithful!

So the other day, my hubby's sunglasses (might I add - 3 week old expensive sunglasses) disappear... which is TOTALLY NOT my husband! I think he still has the same pair around that he had when we were dating 14 years ago (not that he still wears them - but he has them... he just doesn't "lose" things)!!

So we agreed that they would be found or returned if they had been "borrowed" by some mysterious person or one of my boys on a "treasure hunt". And we know that God is faithful - just His faithfulness is a little funny to me sometimes... you'll see why.

One of the things I MOST love about my new house is this:

An "in house" vacuuming system... this is all that I have to lug around to all three levels of the house and plug in and its WONDERFUL!!

BUT!!! It's also the job my husband has "claimed" for himself to do each week... yeah for the help, but bummer that I don't get to play with the "cool toy".

Anyways... last week he didn't get the opportunity to do his "weekly chore" so as I'm pondering what I want to do today I feel this "leading" that I should vacuum the house. And I'm thinking to myself... no, that is Fred's "job" and he's off tomorrow and he'll do it then. But still this nagging thought of, "no, I should do it today". SOOO I get going and start vacuuming the house.



All is going well and working up a good sweat - when I come to vacuum my room and again, that "leading" of "vacuum under the bed"... I normally do this in my big "monthly cleaning" so its really not necessary today, but again - that leading. So I do. Which was actually VERY easy with this new system!! :)

As I do, I bump a couple of things under the bed (other than boxes which are waiting until its colder outside to finish unpacking) so I look under the bed to see what I "bumped" and look at this:














Here's a better view....



In case you couldn't tell from the picture above... that's MY HUBBY'S SUNGLASSES and a book from our pre-bedtime book time (which you can read more about here) from the other night.

Like I said - God is faithful... just the figuring out of just HOW faithful He is can be a funny experience sometimes.

I can't tell you how many times we searched all around the bedroom the other day looking for his sunglasses and it wasn't until I was obedient to that "leading" to vacuum and then again to vacuum under the bed that I really understood what He was showing me in my obedience quest... I love God's personality :)